1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to devices and methods for removing corks from bottles, and more particularly to a cork removal apparatus in which an anchor is integrated with the cork in the bottling process, in which the cork is extracted with a cork-pulling handle that is packaged with the bottle or provided separately, and in which the cork-pulling handle is coupled to the anchor during bottling or later by the consumer.
2. Description of the Background Art
Wine and a few other beverages are typically packaged in glass bottles that are sealed with a cork stopper. Although easy-open containers such as snap-top cans and screw-cap bottles are well known, there are several reasons why easy-open technologies have not been widely adopted in the wine industry. Two particularly salient reasons are that (i) the aesthetic appeal of corked bottles is important to wine consumers, and (ii) no completely adequate means for quick and easy removal of corks, without the use of awkward, cumbersome, or clumsy auxiliary cork removing devices (such as cork screws, cork pullers, pressure pumps, etc.), has yet been invented.
A completely adequate means for quick and easy removal of corks from wine bottles must meet four basic requirements. The first is that the cork must provide an adequate seal against the inside walls of the neck of the bottle. The second is that a permanently installed pulling device must not protrude through the bottom or sides of the cork and it must not split or tear the cork because of the likelihood of resultant wine leakage and/or wine contamination. The third is that the cork and cork-puller installation into the wine bottle must not unduly complicate the present bottle-corking technology used throughout the industry. The fourth is that the cork must be easily extractable by the consumer without the use of cumbersome, awkward, or clumsy auxiliary devices. These requirements, however, tend to work against each other.
For example, the better the cork/glass seal is, the harder it is to extract the cork: the pulling force can increase by as much as 20 kg or more due to the addition of adequate amounts of paraffin wax for sealing. The only known viable prior device for quick and easy cork removal without a separate apparatus is the "cork stopper for bottles of wine" described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,251 issued to Hojnoski on Dec. 26, 1989. The Hojnoski device comprises an integrated cork and puller that enables the wine consumer to quickly and easily remove the cork, provided that the cork is sufficiently well coated with a lubricating agent such as silicone. However, with adequate lubricant, the cork/glass seal obtained is not as good as it should be because it is not possible to use enough wax in the cork coating. That is, it is wax that provides a good cork/glass seal. However, wax acts counter to the silicone lubricant and makes the cork stick to the glass. Consequently, if enough wax is used to provide a good seal, the pull force required to extract the cork (which would normally be as high as 35 kg to 40 kg) using the Hojnoski device is too great. This results from the fact that Hojnoski uses a pulling device that is part of the cork unit, as desired, but because of this it is so small that only two fingers can be used for the pulling operation. With only two fingers, pulling forces in excess of about 20 kg would not be possible for many consumers. In addition, the Hojnoski device, by its nature, is too fragile to reliably withstand more than a pulling force of about 35 kg. This is due in part to a fundamental element of its design, namely the use of a hollow plastic cylinder for anchoring the cork, which enables the insertion of a pulling device into the anchor that can slide up and down to accommodate both operational and storage positions.
Another example of an attempt to provide a cork stopper with a self-contained pulling device can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 1,204,712 issued to Spelling. There are several reasons why the Spelling device is not viable, including the fact that it is not designed for high-speed bottling/corking equipment, and the requirement of a degree of elasticity and tensile strength of the stopper that exceeds that of cork resulting in a significant likelihood of the cork splitting during corking and, as a result, the wine leaking and becoming subject to contamination.
Therefore there is a need for a self-contained cork and cork-removal apparatus that allows for "easy extraction" of the cork while still providing an adequate cork/glass seal that meets the four basic requirements outlined above. As used herein, "easy extraction" means that no cumbersome, awkward, or clumsy auxiliary equipment, such as cork screws that must be screwed into the cork by the consumer, "ahso"-type cork removers that require the consumer to insert a pair of blades between the cork and bottle, or air pumps that require the consumer to push a needle through the cork and pump air to increase pressure inside the bottle, and so on, is required of the consumer, and that adequate pulling forces are as easily applied as with conventional cork screws. The present invention satisfies those needs, as well as others, and overcomes the deficiencies of previously developed cork removal devices.